1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical lens systems, and particularly to a compact optical lens system.
2. Related Art
Optical lenses are basic elements for various optical apparatuses. A typical optical lens is a ground or molded piece of glass, plastic, or other transparent material. Either or both of opposite surfaces of the optical lens are curved, whereby light rays are refracted so that they converge or diverge to form an image. A combination of two or more such optical lenses used to form an image for viewing or photographing is called an optical lens system.
A typical conventional optical lens system contains two or more separate optical lenses. For obtaining optimal image quality, optical centers of the lenses should be precisely aligned one to another, and subsequently secured in a barrel to permanently maintain the optimal alignment. Mass production of optical lens systems using such a process is generally very expensive. In addition, products such as video or still camera devices are expected to be as slim and compact as possible. It is difficult for an optical lens system comprising separate lenses to satisfactorily meet these requirements.
Therefore, what is needed is to provide a compact optical lens system that takes up less space than a conventional lens system having separate optical lenses.